The Eternity Of His Failure
by ExpandingDarkness
Summary: This is it. Sam has fallen and all Dean can do is stand back and watch. Or can he do something about it? Evil!Sam, Despairing!Dean. T. Setting: AU to season four as if Sam had given in. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Pain, that was a funny thing. All his life he had been feeling pain. A scrape there, a bruise here, a few cuts along the way, and of course the broken bones and torn ligaments. Invisible and faded scars criss-crossed his body. He had even been through Hell and back, for crying out loud. Then there was the emotional pain. Losing his mother wasn't too terribly bad since he could barely remember her. His father's death was more profound and the belief that he had been sent to Hell was agonizing. In time, he had come to terms with that loss. Then his brother had died. That prompted him to make his deal. There had been nothing worse than facing life without his little brother by his side. A year passed and he was killed in a rather excruciating fashion. Then he was tormented in the pit for four months. Rather, forty years in Hell time measurement. All of the things he had been dragged kicking and screaming through did not amount to him willingly inflicting the same on others. Those ten years haunted him every day of his life since he had been pulled out of Hell. Day and night he could hear the screams of millions around him in the epitome of terror. His newest victim's screams the loudest of all of them as he tore their flesh apart again and again. All of those deeds in the pit had caused trauma upon his mind and he knew fully well that it was probably going to bite him on the ass one day. Maybe he didn't have that kind of time to experience that karma vengeance. His time was quickly running out. He didn't have time to mourn all the dead people he used to love. If he wasn't careful, he was about to join them.

"Please," Dean Winchester pleaded, struggling at his bonds, "don't do this. Don't you care about me?"

Dean looked up at his captor's twisted, malicious face. He stared desperately into the dark black eyes trying to find the trace of the man he used to know. There had to be a sign that the man he had loved was still in there. Hopeless realization told him that if Sam Winchester was still there, he wouldn't have unleashed the demons. Dean's death wasn't going to bring back the old Sam. He was already gone.

"I do care about you, Dean," Sam's voice sounded hurt, "You just don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" Dean ventured to ask, "Why you're Hell-bent on destroying everything?"

"No, you pretty much got that already," Sam said sarcastically, leaning over him. Dean stayed completely still in the chair he was tied to. Sam ran a hand through Dean's hair sending chills down Dean's spine. Sam straightened back up to full height and loomed over Dean once more. All that did was make him feel ever more small and insignificant.

"Dean, I'm almost disappointed in you," Sam shook his head sadly, "You should realize I'm just living up to my full potential. You should be proud!"

"Proud?" Dean didn't believe his ears.

"Yeah," Sam nodded as if it was obvious, "you really should be. I've far surpassed any expectation possible. I've done all of this for you, Dean. I wanted to make you proud. I know you don't particularly like the methods I've used, but-"

"But I already was proud of you!" protested Dean.

"You had a funny way of showing it then," Sam muttered moodily.

"Just tell me one thing," Dean insisted, "When did all of this start? I can't even remember. Was it because of Ruby?"

"No, no, no, it wasn't Ruby," laughed Sam coldly, "It was that night that we had the argument about my powers after the first time I saved your life with them."

Dean remembered that night. He remembered it clearly. It was as clear as yesterday. Bad example, yesterday he had been drugged by Sam's goonies. That wasn't the point though.

They had been on a hunt. They were taking out run-of-the-mill demons working for Lillith, it was supposed to be easy. However, one had had the guts to pull a sneak-attack on Dean. If Sam hadn't exorcised the demon, Dean would've been dead. Afterward, they had an argument about Sam's power and their usage. Sam had told him then and there that either Dean killed him on the spot or he would continue using his 'gift'. Needless to say, Dean hadn't. Definitely a regrettable mistake in the eyes of the world and its inhabitants.

"Oh," was all Dean could say.

"Dean," Sam said softly, "I know you can't fathom it right now, but I'm doing this for your betterment."

'I hope you're in a better place, Sammy,' Dean thought, drowing Sam out, 'because you shouldn't see this if you're still trapped in your body. This is not your fault, it's mine.'

"Just think about it Dean," Sam continued, "everything will be better and you'll see. You'll thank me for this."

Dean lowered his head in defiance. Pain, physical or emotional, meant nothing to him. No torture or breaking could change him. He was already broken. As for torture, it would be eternal. He, Dean Winchester, had destroyed the world. Even in death, in the afterlife, he would still know that billions of people were either dead or living in fear because of him. All because he couldn't kill his little brother. What more, Dean's personal damnation could be filmed and photographed. It was the look in Sam's eyes that had brought him to this place of eternal damnation. The angels must have lost or this wouldn't be happening.

Sam must have taken Dean's non-response as a clue, since he stopped spouting his pep talk and turned.

"Untie him, bring him food, and if he doesn't sleep, make him take some sleeping pills," Sam told the guards that had been flanking him during the whole session, "Nobody comes in and nobody touches him unless they're giving him the sleeping pills, understand?"

Both goons nodded to Sam's satisfaction.

Then, before the guards untied Dean, Sam hastened to come to his side.

"I love you, big brother," Sam kissed the top of Dean's he strode from the room without a glance.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

AN: Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

There was good news and bad news. His head felt like it had been repeatedly bashed against a concrete wall. That was the good news. The bad news was that his baby brother was becoming a monster. Well, he already was a monster considering he had unleashed the demons from Hell to wreak havoc on Earth. Dean was still trying to figure out Sam's reasoning in all of this. He had a pretty good theory, but it scared the crap out of him.

The theory: Sam gave up. Just as simple as that, Sam just got tired of it all. Dean had seen him struggling, resorting to his demonic powers instead of a gun. Sam would sit up at night, not sleeping an ounce unless it was in the Impala on the road. Eating had also been neglected. It was as if he had been....preparing himself. Sam had given in a foot every day on that last mile. The most devastating part about it all was that Dean had witnessed Sam's slow descent. There wasn't a damn thing he had done about it either. Now all of humanity was essentially screwed because of Dean Winchester's neglect of action. Now humanity was going to pay for his screw-up. Now every being in existence was in agony for the lack of what he had not done. Earth's demise was on his shoulders for eternity.

Wallowing in hatred of himself wasn't comforting. He didn't want to be coddled or held as he cried. All he wanted was Sammy back. Not the son of a bitch inside his brother's body. He wanted HIS Sammy. He longed for his baby brother, whom he had practically raised, to hold him as Dean had done for him so many times before. That was impossible now, Sam was dead. Sammy was in heaven with the God he believed would save him. Dean knew that God was merciful, he had taken Sammy away from him instead of the other way around. If Dean would have been the one chosen for this fate, Sam would have been destroyed. Annihilated, more like. Sam's soul would have been ripped apart mercilessly. There wouldn't be a Sam Winchester to take to heaven.

This is the way it should be.

Dean knew he wouldn't be coming back from this intact. He was already beaten and broken. Physical pain was the only form of abuse he could feel. Mentally, he was in living Hell. He was so accustomed to emotional abuse that he was in a constant state of anguish. The fire he was burning in was hot and the smoke stifled him. Fighting the flames was futile. The fire was him. It was his burning soul... No, wait, that wasn't him. As far gone as he was, he could still feel himself.

That definitely wasn't him.

'Dean? Dean! Wake up, Dean!'

Dean nearly yelled in shock as he heard a new, but oddly familiar voice inside his head. A presence, as powerful as the flames in his mind, electrified his mental state. The presence was so forceful that it was hard to form conscious thoughts.

A startled 'What?' was all he could muster in his shock.

'It's Castiel' replied the same voice that shook his head as if an earthquake had hit.

'Castiel?' Dean asked slowly, 'What the Hell?'

.......................

Okay, short chapter after a long update period...I must be a demon myself. There will be Sam and Dean time next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, this was a little over the top this time. Castiel in Dean's head was a little bit too personal for Dean's taste. It was also overwhelming to have an angel of Castiel's power embodied in a human. Dean could barely feel his own consciousness. Even still feeling it, his own essence seemed like it was swimming. On what, Dean didn't know, but it felt like it was swimming.

_Dean, can you hear me?_

_Yeah, loud and clear. Kinda hurts though._

_I am sorry, but we must communicate like this les Sam or another demon discovers me. _

_Okay. So what's going on?_

_The war is being lost, Dean. _

_That's not what I wanted to hear. _

_Again, I am sorry. I have a task for you. _

_Right now? I'm a bit busy being a prisoner. _

_Listen to me, Dean, you have to do this. _

_Okay, what is it?_

_You have to kill your brother. _

_What?_

_I know it will be difficult, but you must succeed. _

_Cas, I screwed up before with trying to kill Sam. I couldn't do it. That's what got us into this mess. _

_I understand your past inability, but this time, you have no other choice. _

_Why? How come nobody else can take him out?_

_Because you are the closest one to him. _

_And what if I can't kill him? Just like before?_

_Then the war is over and we have lost with no hope of redemption. _

_That's a little harsh, Cas. _

_I apologize, but I must be frank. This is too important. The stakes are too high. _

_And so what is your genius plan for me offing Sam? He's a demon king, remember? I'm just Dean Winchester, the weak hunter._

_There is a way to kill Sam. _

_Mind sharing with the class?_

_You must exorcise the demon and kill the body. The demon inside of Sam is Sam himself. What he has become is what he has always been in a different form. _

_What about the good part of Sam? Wouldn't that kill him too?_

_Yes. _

_I can't do it. _

_Yes, you can. _

_No, Cas, I can't. I can't kill Sam. I've tried, _I've_ failed, I'm not trying again. _

_Dean-_

Castiel was cut off by Dean being awoken. A demon loomed over him with huge coal-black eyes. Dean instinctively flinched and the demon immediately shied off. Obviously that one didn't want anything to do with Sam's wrath. The demon approached him again, more tentative this time. He studied Dean and gave him a you-aren't-so-special look.

"Can I help you?" Dean growled suddenly, making the demon step back once more.

The demon didn't reply and instead exited the room that Dean was being held in. Ten seconds later, Sam strode into the room.

"Hey, Dean," he came to sit on Dean's bed beside where he was laying, "How are you feeling? You've been sick, man."

He tried to place a hand on Dean's forehead, but Dean moaned and turned away from it. Sam's brow furrowed and he snapped orders to the demon always guarding his back. Dean watched the demon exit the room, leaving him there alone with Sam.

Castiel's order echoed in his head. He had to kill Sam. The angels and God commanded it. Earth would be lost if he didn't. This was the turning point.

He couldn't do it.

He couldn't even picture himself driving a knife into Sam, or shooting him through the heart, none of that. The angels had the wrong killer for the job, this wasn't Dean's fight. He wouldn't do it, he couldn't. There was no way in Hell. He didn't believe that it would end like that.

For if there was no Sam, there was no Dean.

"I really don't feel good," Dean felt himself saying weakly, "Sammy. . ."

No, that wasn't Sammy. It wasn't Sammy. It couldn't be Sammy because that was a cold-hearted demon bitch. No, there was good in Sam, he knew it. The caring little brother look was on his face and the concern was written into his eyes. That was his Sam. His Sam. . .

Then it all clicked.

Sam showed himself in two ways. Demonic to everyone else and little brother to Dean. That's why Dean couldn't kill him. Whenever he faced Sam, he saw his brother. It wasn't the same killer demon that was attempting to destroy the entire Earth. It was the Sam he used to know.

This made it harder.

"It'll be okay, Dean," Sam placed a cool hand on Dean's forehead, this time Dean didn't move away, "I'll take care of you. Isn't that what little brothers are for?"

"Yeah, that's what they're for, Sammy," Dean muttered, closing his eyes.

"I love you, big bro," Sam said, kissing him on the forehead with cold lips, before standing, "I'll be back soon and you'll be feeling better. I promise. Then we'll go somewhere nice where you can stay. Okay?"

"Okay, Sammy," Dean murmured, drifting into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the terribly long delay but I've had an awful Supernatural writer's block, no motivation, no time--the usual thing. So after a few long months, here is the continuation of The Eternity of His Failure. It's short, but it's essential to the plot.

Kill Sam Winchester, his only brother and only family left. No, Dean couldn't do it. He wouldn't. Castiel couldn't make him. No damn Angel could make him do anything! He was his own person and so help him he would not hurt a hair on his baby brother's head and that was final!

Though, there was nagging at him that maybe there was a larger purpose behind what Castiel was asking. Sam was the big boss demon king after all, right? What if killing him meant the end of the struggle for world domination between the Angels and demons?

No. He shouldn't be thinking thoughts such as that. There was no way in Hell he was going to do what Castiel said this time.

Dean opened his eyes and stretched his arms before getting up from his bed. For three days he had been feverish, hallucinating (he was convinced it was a hallucination, nothing more) Castiel the Angel. Sam had said that he was coming to get him. To take him somewhere comfortable where he could explain their future. Dean was okay with that as long as it meant that he got something to eat. From all of the throwing up, he hadn't eaten much and he was _starving. _

As if on cue, the door swung open to reveal a grinning Sam. For a moment Dean thought that it all had been a nightmare, just on a different theme than Hell. But then he saw how the guards outside the door stared at the back of Sam. Nope, not a bad dream.

"Dean," Sam came over, standing before him with an even broader smile, "How do you feel, bro?"

"Better," Dean admitted.

"Good," Sam answered, "That means I can take you home."

Dean suddenly felt like a just been house trained puppy, "Take me home?" he asked blankly.

"Yeah, home. _Our_ home," Sam nodded excitedly, more excited than Dean had seen him in a long time, way before the time where his brother had been turning to the dark side.

"Okay, whatever you say" Dean answered warily, standing a bit shakily. Brother or not, he was still a demon and the real Sam Winchester knew there was no such thing as home.


	5. Chapter 5

The sky was a deep, ashy black. It was unnatural for noon, or close to noon anyway. Time had no meaning to demons, thus clocks were rare inside of the demon compound that Sam had erected. Dean really didn't care about what time it was either. Time was up. It had been up since the Apocalypse. Time wasn't the issue, however, it was the state of outdoors. The sky was a deep, ashy black that seemed to absorb light and demolish it as soon as it hit the atmosphere. Light was scarce and the only sources were fires coming from the streets or a burning building. The world was in chaos as humans fought vainly for the last shred of their existence as free individuals. They were rapidly losing that war. The Angels had deserted them once they discovered that the demons were too powerful for their liking. Dean hated them for that. He hated Castiel even though he knew deep down that he shouldn't. Humanity was done for and Dean wanted somebody to blame. Castiel was gone anyway, so Dean didn't give a rat's ass what he said about the Angel.

The entourage of Sam, Dean, and a few of Sam's demon underlings flew through the darkened noon sky over charred fields and the rubble of buildings. Dean's hands were on the glass of the plane as he gazed at the scene below. He could see humans, most likely possessed by demons by then, scurrying through annihilated ruins pillaging for the basic survival supplies. Dean didn't dare avert his eyes, he couldn't. He had caused this, Sam had caused this, his inaction had caused this.

After about two hours of staring down upon the chaos, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to the horrors he had witnessed. He took that time to remember just mere weeks before where everything had hung in the balance. Since that time, Dean hadn't had time to think. Frankly, he didn't want to think about it at all. Now was the time he reflected on the past to move on to the future.

It had began with Sam and himself, it always did. They always seemed to be in the thick of it all. The demon blood drinking of damn Ruby had set Sam on the dark path. Well, that wasn't entirely true when Dean thought hard about it. Sam's path had began shortly after he was born with Azazel dripping his own fucking blood into his baby brother's mouth. Anyway, that wasn't the point. It was that the demon blood from Ruby had crazed Sam. Dean had nearly lost his beloved brother that first time. Dean could've killed him, sure, and that did cross his mind. However, Dean knew that he probably would have hesitated and something happened to where Sam would get away like any misfortune occurred. After the blood, intervention, and chase was Lilith. Her death was the turning point. The day that Dean had feared to come was finally there. Sam seemed as if he had made a comeback, back to Dean's side, but it was only temporary. Then with the rise of Lucifer, everything changed once more. Hunters were picked off one by one. First it was ones they didn't know, then it was people close to home. Ellen, even though she wasn't a Hunter, she was a threat and thus killed on the spot. Jo had became more dangerous every day, taking out more demons than Dean had thought possible without Ruby's magic knife. She had been taken out via demon ambush. Dean found her later, salted and burned her body, and then set her ashes in a small silver box that resided in his pocket. That was his final testament to the blond girl who he should have looked after.

After Jo was Bobby. That was the most fatal blow of all. Bobby had been an uncle, brother, and friend to the Winchester sons since birth. He had always been handy when they had needed him, always a safe refuge, always there to listen or give advice. Bobby was practically family to them. The demons considered him a hazard due to the extensive knowledge Bobby possessed about fighting demons. This was after Sam's rise to power and his coronation as the Demon King. It had been Sam's order that had taken Bobby to his death. It had been Sam that had told his elite squad of demonic commandos about all of the devil's traps and other safeguards Bobby had in his house. In the end, there was nothing holding the demons back from Bobby. He had been taken before Sam and then publicly executed, his head hung from a pole.

Dean squeezed his eyes tighter and tighter as he thought about his friends' demise. There had been no stopping Sam as he ordered the death or possession of all Hunters around the globe.

_There was a way of stopping Sam and there still is. _Spoke a voice in his ear, or what seemed to be his ear, that nearly made him jump out of his skin. Dean opened his eyes and looked around, startled. Sam was in the front of the plane with part of his staff and the rest were in the back to prevent Dean from escaping the plane. As if he would try to jump out of an airplane. He was tense just being on the damn thing to begin with. Sam knew him too well that Dean would not be thinking of escaping a plane. There really was no way in Hell.

_Dean, it is Castiel._

_Like Hell, you're gone. You're just a figment of my imagination. _

_Be serious, Dean._

_I am being serious! You left us, you left me! You're gone and you can't be in my head! You just can't._

_Though I am._

_Figment of my imagination._

_Dean, I have no time for you fooling around. _

_What do you want then? Make it quick, I don't like my imaginary friends. . .well, you aren't exactly a friend. . .figments talking too long. _

_Dean, you know your mission. You must kill Sam. _

_Same answer as before: like Hell._

_Dean, you must, you're the only chance humanity has. _

_Screw you, Cas. I already failed once, I'm not making the same mistake. _

_By giving up. Accepting defeat. Being a coward. _

_You're just trying to get me riled up, you bastard, I'm not falling for it. You're not even real. Go away. _

_Dean. . . _Castiel's voice inside him sounded like it was running out of patience quickly.

_Don't care. _

_Yes, you do. If you didn't, you wouldn't look at those people below you and believe it was your fault. _

"It is my fault and I can't do anything about it!" Dean shouted without realizing he was speaking aloud, "Not anything you want me to do!"

A moment later, Sam entered the cabin of the plane Dean was in and sat in the chair beside his older brother.

"Are you okay, Dean?" Sam asked with deep concern that Dean knew ran back to his younger brother he had once known. Even under all of the black clothing and the slightly blackened eyes, Dean could still see Sam, his Sam. That was the reason that he couldn't kill the demonic overlord that was sitting next to him. Dean knew that stabbing the body of his brother through the heart or exorcising the demon and killing the host by accident would be the same thing as killing his brother, the soul that was trapped underneath all that evil. Cas, imagination Cas, whoever and wherever the Hell he was couldn't see that. Nobody could except for Dean. The elder Winchester could see through the darkness to the light, even though the light was fading. Only then when the light was completely gone would he dare make a move against the demonic overlord that had taken Sam Winchester.

Only then.

The light prevented Dean from action, it always had. Locking in Sam in Bobby's strong room had diminished the light, Dean knew now. Taking action against the demon only made Sam slip away faster. Dean still held onto that shred of hope that he could save his little brother and heal the world, making everything happily ever after. That hope, that childish hope, was killing him and destroying the world.

Though, Dean didn't care.

"I'm okay, Sammy, just had a weird dream," Dean muttered in response. Everything was a weird dream nowdays, more like a bad one. Nightmares that were in the waking hours. Dean hadn't had the fortune of good dreams in his unconscious state. In his mind, Dean didn't think he even deserved them.

Sam lifted an eyebrow, caught off-guard with Dean's response. He knew that Dean was going through once heck of a time with the demonic armies conquering the world. Dean wasn't fooling him that easily. The old Sam would have insisted on interrogating the elder Winchester, but this Sam just shrugged and gave a small smile. It was odd how all of this mayhem made Sam happy. Or maybe that was the demon instead.

"It's Sam, not Sammy," the demon overlord answered in amusement before growing serious again, "I was going to come back here anyway, we're nearly home."

"Home?" Dean asked for what seemed the millionth time, "Where's that?"

"Lawrence," Sam answered casually, as casual as a demon could possibly be, "Lawrence, Kansas."


	6. Chapter 6

This time Dean didn't want to look out of the window. He didn't even want to get off the plane, which was a definite change for him. Lawrence, they were in Lawrence again. Dean didn't want to be there. Why did Sam want to be there either? He didn't like Kansas either!

Dread filled the older Winchester as he flattened himself to the plane seat. He closed his eyes and repeated over and over that it was okay, it was going to be okay. It wasn't going to be okay though. The fucking Apocalypse had come, the Earth was dominated by demons, and he was in Lawrence, Kansas!

Groaning, he opened his eyes to see Sam watching him from the seats in front of him. He had his knees on the chair itself and was leaning on the top of the chair, staring at him.

"What?" Dean asked with a flare of irritation. Sam seemed to take that as a good sign since he got off of the chair and motioned for Dean to follow him. With one last noise of protest inside his mind, Dean followed the younger Winchester through the plane and out the hatch. He sighed with defeat once he saw the familiar sight.

His house.

It was the only one left standing in the neighborhood. The other houses and the trees had been. . .removed by some means and asphalt had been laid all around the house. Except for the grass and one standing tree. It was weird, Dean had to admit, to see an island in the middle of ruins.

"I know that you hate it here," Sam spoke from beside him as they walked across the asphalt toward the house, "but it's necessary for your safety, okay?"

"My safety?" Dean frowned.

"Yeah," Sam looked almost sheepish for a moment, "A few of my generals think it would be in our best interest for someone to ah. . .take you."

"Take me?" Dean asked darkly with narrowed eyebrows. He didn't like the sound of that or how casually Sam had said "my generals". Sam Winchester was no fucking military leader!

Sam's pale cheeks turned pink for a moment, "Possess you," he muttered as if it was a dirty word.

"Ah," Dean nodded with a "yeah, that was obvious" expression.

"But I'm making sure that won't happen," Sam assured him quickly, "I won't let them do anything to you."

"Okay, whatever," Dean brushed off that promise with an aggravated wave of the hand. Being on edge was making him irritable.

Sam fell silent and didn't say anything else until they reached the porch, "You'll see," he finally spoke, "I still care about you and I _will_ protect you even though you may not believe me right now."

Dean didn't bother replying and instead yanked the door to the house open and strode inside. It was exactly as if John and Mary Winchester lived there many, many years ago. The only difference was that the furniture was updated and there were demons in the house. Glancing up at the door frame, he saw a banner with "**Welcome Home, Dean!**" written across it. Dean rolled his eyes as his nerves began to fray even further.

This was _so_ not right.

Dean walked through the kitchen and living room, then upstairs to the bedrooms and bathrooms in a haze of silent mesmerization. Once he arrived in his bedroom, he glanced around with an overwhelming sensation of warmth washing over him. Entering the room, he saw old photos in shiny, new frames. As a kid and throughout his life, he hadn't taken many photos. Dad hadn't allowed it. Though, there they were sitting there. They were real, Dean knew, but they seemed surreal.

Even the bed was seemed like home. It had a blue comforter, Dean's favorite color as a kid. The pillows were fluffed and a new white. The wood in the room was a soft brown that Dean remembered that his mother would buy.

"Like it?" asked a soft voice behind him that made him jump. Dean whirled around to face Sam. Dammit, he hadn't even heard him sneaking up on him!

"Jesus, Sammy, don't startle me like that," Dean muttered.

"Sorry," Sam apologized.

"S'okay," Dean answered the first question after a long moment.

"You'll warm up to it," Sam smiled in approval.

"Sure," Dean shrugged, sitting on the bed.

Sam knelt in front of Dean on the floor and looked up at his brother as if he was a dad concerned about his son, "De, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's nothing," Dean replied without looking into his baby brother's eyes.

"It's something," Sam insisted.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"See, that's just weird!" Dean exclaimed, his eyes boring into Sam's with dark intensity.

"I don't follow you, Dean," Sam sighed, gathering his patience.

"This, all of this," Dean waved a hand at the room, "It's all a lie!" Before Dean could begin to say just how much the world he was trapped in was just a façade, a demon that Dean remembered was part of Sam's cabinet came to the door.

"Winchester," said the demon.

Sam didn't bother turning his head, "Not now."

"It's important."

"What is it then that is so important?" hissed Sam with apparent impatience that wasn't characteristic of the former level-headed Winchester son.

"Lucifer demands your presence."

Dean could see Sam's eyes widening in surprise and he was certain that Sam was hiding it from the subordinate demon at the door. He studied Sam's expression and wondered why Sam was so nervous to see the head honcho demon of all demons. Wasn't Sam the son of the devil now? Wasn't Lucifer the devil? What the Hell?

"I've got to go, Dean," Sam told Dean quickly standing up, "Don't leave the house." in a much softer voice, Sam said, "Whatever you do, don't leave the house, okay?"

Dean nodded, surprised himself by the fear in Sam's voice, before the demonic lord exited the room.

Maybe they weren't as safe as Sam claimed.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is a short update, just a warning! This is telling Sam's tale instead of Dean's. Tell me what you think about this temporary change. Reviews are love!

Black drapes hung from every window, obscuring the glass that had been boarded up. There was very little light in the corridors, the only sources being a few fluorescent lights going out. His eyes swept the adjoining chambers that were open to the long traverse of the corridor that he was walking down. His boots made very little sound against the cracking tile. There was an absence of sound between screams of the tortured below the floor. The prisoners were becoming animals, clawing themselves to death so they couldn't be possessed by the demons.

He felt no pity for them. They had brought that fate upon themselves by resisting the invasion. How dare they go up against his armies?

His blackened eyes blinked and they turned back to blue-green momentarily. The punishment. . ._torture_. . .of the prisoners was wrong! He wasn't supposed to be doing this! What was he doing anyway? He was supposed to be fighting the demons, not helping them! What had gone wrong? Where did he go wrong? He fought his feet that was carrying him to his master, but the effort was futile. It was as if his body wasn't his own. A moment later, he turned into an enormous chamber and fell to his knees in front of a throne.

_Sam. . ._was the hiss that enveloped his mind, turning his pale eyes from the deepest reflecting black to bloody scarlet.

_Master._

_You are resisting. I will annihilate you unless you cease._

Sam Winchester stifled a moan and fell forward even further, relinquishing the remainder of his mental free will.

_Sam. . .Samuel. . .you've been deceitful, lying to me about your human brother. I want him before me. He will fulfill his destiny as I command. _

_Please, Master, spare him. . .please. . .he'd rather die than submit to your will--!_

_Then die, he shall. He will become anew and be an instrument of my will. I will shape him to become my perfect soldier. _

_Please. . ._

_CEASE!_

Sam fell silent and heard the echo of his master's voice in his mind, slightly cringing at the force and power.

_Do not fail me, Sam. I am growing impatient with your limitation to complete your tasks. _


	8. Chapter 8

Sleep wouldn't come for Dean Winchester. No matter how many sheep he counted or how tired he was, there was no bliss of unawareness for the former hunter. His senses were haywire, to begin with. Demons guarding the house was making him crazy. Then there was the destruction that he had seen on the way to the house in Lawrence. How could he have not stopped Sammy? How could he have let Sammy fall to the "dark side"? Why couldn't he have done it for his brother's sake. Sam wasn't even fully human anymore. He was a demon.

Dean was torn. His inner voice, in the form of Castiel no less, told him to complete what he would have done. His heart told him that killing Sammy wouldn't do any good and that all it would cause was pain from Dean. He had been adamant about so many things that his brain was spinning. First it was take down Sammy, then it was don't take down Sammy, now he was rethinking everything. He was considering his first option once more.

_Dean._

_What the Hell do you want now? _

_You know what you must do. _

_I'm getting there! Peer pressure isn't going to work on me._

_Then what changed your mind?_

_Have you taken a look outside? _

_Yes, Dean._

_I could have stopped all that from happening. I can still prevent the end of the world. The apocalypse can be halted somehow. Maybe killing my brother is the way to do that. I don't know for sure, I probably won't until I try. If it doesn't work, I'll have to find another way. At least I won't have to face Sammy again. _

Sam walked into the house and felt that something was off in the air. Not the air itself, but the tension was high and it was coming from Dean. He knew for certain when he went up to Dean's bedroom that night.

"Dean? Can I talk to you?" Sam asked from the door. Dean lifted his head to stare at him and then nodded. Sam flashed him a small smile and then sat on the edge of the bed Dean was laying on.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Dean asked quietly. Sam turned and saw his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were a mixture of blood red and black where the white was supposed to be and then in the middle, his irises were the same blue-green they always were. Sam was mesmerized in his appearance for a moment. He looked so much more older and stressed. He knew it was probably from being in the presence of Lucifer. His Master had that effect.

"I was Lucifer's audience today," Sam admitted, "That's why I had to leave. He. . .he wants you."

"Wants me?" Dean narrowed his eyebrows darkly in response.

"As his perfect soldier," Sam swallowed, looking away.

"His _what_?"

"He wants to twist you into something that I've become. He'll break your will, your resolve, contort you into his slave. He's done it once already when you were in Hell. He did that through Alistair."

Dean was silent for a long time before continuing with his question, "Are you going to let him take me?"

Sam passed a hand over his eyes and stood up shakily. He was torn. Of course he couldn't give his brother up to the Dark Lord, his Master. Then again, Sam really didn't have a choice. Lucifer could easily come to them or take him over.

"I don't know what to do," Sam answered with obvious frustration, "I can't. . .but I have to. . .aagh!"

With a shout, Sam slammed his fist into the mirror, shattering it on impact. Dean almost imperceptibly flinched and watched his younger brother grip his bleeding hand that was filled with shards of glass. Sam looked up from his bloodied hand to Dean with the conflict in his multi-colored eyes. The trademark Sam Winchester pout was present and Dean couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia. Maybe Sammy was still in there and could help him, but probably not. He was a demon after all. He had killed Bobby and Ellen. Unconsciously, Dean touched the small silver box in his pocket that held the ashes of a small blond hunter the brothers had known. No, he wouldn't be fooled again. Bobby had tried to give Sam a second chance, but he had already been too far gone. The Harvelles were innocent in all of this and Sam had cut them down also. Dean wouldn't be the next victim and it was only a matter of time before he was. Besides, he had already decided to kill the demon that his brother was and save the world from the Hell that had been broken loose from it's cage.

"I won't let him take me alive," Dean finally said with determination in his eyes as he stood, "and I won't let you take me either."

A/N: Reviews are love and I cherish every single one I receive! Tell me what you think about this cliffie!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for the insanely short update, but it had to be done! I love you all!

No, this couldn't be happening. This was the first time they were faced with an ultimatum such as this. They had few options to choose from. Either a) Dean could kill Sam and end everything with him and then go after Lucifer b) kill Sam and hide c) run away with Sam or d) run away and then go after Lucifer with Sam's help. Anything he chose could go south, Dean knew. A and B were detrimental to his relationship with his brother because his brother would no longer be alive. Go figure. C and D were likely to get him killed either by Sam or some other badass demon that had it out for him. Plus, going after Lucifer was a suicide mission. Nobody, Dean believed, could go up against Lucifer and make it out alive.

Dean stood in front of Sam with his bloody hand and stared him down darkly, almost daring him to try and stop him from walking out the door. Sam was staring back at him, but without malice. His eyes were round with pain and sorrow.

"I won't willingly try to stop you," Sam told his older brother, "but My Master. . .Lucifer. . .can take me over at any moment. I'm sorry, Dean. About everything."

"Not your fault," Dean muttered instinctively, reminded of his little brother of the past that would pout and jut out his lip every time something bad happened.

Sam opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off from what he was going to say by a strangled cry and sank to his knees with his eyes tightly squeezed shut.

"Sammy?" Dean asked, kneeling in front of the younger man with concern.

Sam opened his eyes, but instead of the murky color they had been they were a violent ruby. With blinding speed, Sam's hand shot out and caught Dean by the throat. Rising slowly, Sam got to his feet and took Dean with him. Holding him mid-air with an iron grip on Dean's neck, Sam hissed in Lucifer's voice, "_Dean Winchester, you will be mine._"

Then in a blur of motion, Sam tossed Dean toward the wall where his head impacted. Upon collision, Dean's vision went dark.


	10. Chapter 10

Cold was everywhere. It seeped through his clothes, through his skin, and then through to his bones. Dean shivered on the stone floor before his eyes blinked open. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment and studied the devil worship symbols painted on. This couldn't be good. Dean rolled over onto his side and caught sight of Sam standing not too far off. He had an absolute miserable look on his face. His eyes were a mixture of scarlet and black, the usual blue-green not to be found. His face conveyed the message: "Get me out of here" and "I really don't want to be here.". Dean wished he could help his brother, but he had bigger fish to fry at the moment and he was still wary of Sam. He wasn't going to bust him out and have Sam drag him right back into the frying pan.

He made eye contact with his little brother briefly and the message written across his face changed from miserable to ashamed. Dean took that as a silent apology as he got to his feet. His boots against the stone floor made an echoing sound in the otherwise silent room which made Sam visibly cringe. Dean lifted an eyebrow and studied the room. It was like a cavern in a cathedral. It was massive and ominous, just the place Dean didn't want to be. How the Hell was he going to get out of this mess?

_Dean Winchester _rang a deep voice that reverberated off the walls and cast menacing hisses through the cavern.

"Dean Winchester isn't here right now, leave a message after the beep," Dean responded nervously.

_Humor won't save you. _

"I've been told that before, but it really is a good strategy," Dean answered while attempting to locate the source of the voice.

_You cannot find me, Dean, I am everywhere you cannot see. _

"Right," Dean snorted, "Cut the badass mofo crap and show yourself you son of a bitch!"

He saw Sam shift on his feet and heard him whisper, "Dean, don't."

Dean wished he could reassure him that everything was under control, but that was impossible. He had no idea what he was doing since this was far out of his league. Sure, they had faced some bad mojo in the past, but nothing this large-scale. Dean was just making things up as he went since he really had no clue what was going to happen. All he knew was that this was a bad situation and he needed to get out. Every instinct told him to run, but that wasn't much of an option either since Lucifer could just as well sic Sammy on him. That kid could outrun him since he had long legs and Dean wouldn't stand a chance if Sam tackled him and then proceeded to sit on him. That would be even worse.

_I wouldn't make him sit on you _the voice of Lucifer, the devil, sounded almost humorous just for a moment.

"That's nice to know," Dean replied without any emotion, "So. . .let's cut to the chase. What do you want with me?"

_I want _you_, Dean. You're special. Your so-called Angels wanted you for a higher purpose, but couldn't get to you. I know how to get to you though. _

"Oh yeah?" Dean's mouth felt as dry as the desert, "And how's that?"

_Several years in Hell will break you into the perfect soldier I need. _

Dean's heart nearly stopped. Hell. He would do anything to stay away from that place. He would give his life, but that would just make the trip downstairs one heck of a lot faster. Dean knew that Hell would tear him to pieces like the thirty years he resisted. He knew that if he was imprisoned in Hell, he would become the torturer he used to be in far less time. Hell was a place a being could only experience once and hopefully not at all in the first place.

_Dean_ spoke a new voice.

_THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME, CAS!_

_Calm yourself. _

_That's a little impossible right now since I'm about to go back to HELL!_

_Dean, there is another way. _

_Can Lucifer hear this?_

_No. _

_Okay, go on then. _

_Kill Sam and you can save both of you from the depths of perdition. _

_You're guaranteeing us a room in Heaven?_

_Yes, for the ultimate deed you will have redeemed yourself in the eyes of the Lord. _

_You. . .you promise?_

_Yes, Dean. Angels don't lie. _

Dean looked up at Sam and felt the tears shining in his eyes. Could he kill Sam to save them both?

There was one way to find out.

_How do I kill him?_

_The knife, the one Ruby possessed, can kill Sam if you stab him through his throat. _

_The throat?_

_That is the most vulnerable area for demons. _

Dean studied Sam's throat for a moment. It was pulsing with life and also fear. Could he wrench a blade through there and end his brother's life?

_Where is the knife?_

_It is in Sam's right coat pocket. _

_How the Hell am I going to get to it?_

_Be creative. _

Dean sighed and gathered his courage. This was going to take everything that he had and everything that Sam ever did give him.

"Perfect soldier, huh?" Dean addressed Lucifer, "Keep talkin'."


	11. Chapter 11

_You have just moments, I am shielding your true thoughts from Lucifer and your movements. He cannot see or hear you. _

_So you're really still here, Cas?_

_Yes, now GO!_

Dean was sent into motion without even honestly meaning to move in the first place. He started toward Sam, ignoring Lucifer's raving about how he was going to make him into a perfect soldier. There was one target and one target only.

Sam Winchester, his last hope.

Sam's eyes immediately found his and the younger brother's frown deepened. His eyes shone confusion and Dean shook his head and put his finger to his lips in a "shhh" manner. Every step felt like an eternity in his mind. One step took him one step closer to the end. The end of what, he wondered. Would this be the end of the Apocalypse or just his own suffering? The most he could hope for was Sam's peace. He would go to Hell if that meant that Sam went to Heaven. There was nothing that Dean hoped for more, however, than to meet his mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, and brother in Heaven. That would be the ultimate ending, but somehow he doubted that that would happen.

There was never a happy ending for Dean Winchester.

_Cas, can he hear us?_

_No, but you don't have long._

"Sammy," Dean swallowed once he stood in front of his brother, "I'm sorry, I really am. You told me when you first took me that you wanted me to be proud of you and I am. I always have been. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I was just mad," Sam looked down momentarily, "Lucifer's anger was consuming me. I'm sorry for what I've said. . .and what I've done."

"I know, I forgive you."

Sam gave him the faintest hint of a smile and shifted on his feet, "What happens now? How are you able to talk to me?"

"Cas is taking care of it," Dean murmured, mentally preparing him for the moments to come, "He's still here."

"Oh, that's good, I guess."

"Yeah."

_What happened to last moments not being socially awkward? _Dean sighed mentally. Then he caught glimpse of the knife on Sam's belt, partially hidden by his coat. This was it.

"Sammy. . ." Dean couldn't find the words he wanted to say. His eyes filled with unshed tears as the moment he always knew would happen came to bear on them.

"Dean?" Sam asked with innocent confusion.

Dean nearly choked at that. He had to do it NOW!

"I'm so sorry!" Dean's arm shot out, his hand diving for Sam's belt. His fist gripped the hilt of the dagger that had slayed so many demons in the past. Now it would vanquish one more. The cold blade rubbed against his finger and Dean whipped his arm back and then around to connect blade to Sam's neck. In midair his hand was frozen. Sam was also frozen with the blade centimeters from his throat, terror in his eyes. Dean struggled to move his hand, wrist, anything, but it was useless. He was immobile.

Suddenly, Sam cried out and his eyes turned scarlet once more. He whimpered in pain as Lucifer's voice echoed throughout the chamber.

_DEAN WINCHESTER, DARE YOU DEFY ME?!_

Dean kept struggling to drive the knife into his brother, but was met with the same results. His desperation intensified as he heard Sam began to moan repetitively, "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop--"

_Cas! Cas, where are you? What happened?_

_YOUR PRECIOUS GUARDIAN ANGEL IS NO MORE, DESTROYED IN THE ATTEMPT TO CHALLENGE THE DARK LORD. _

"MAKE IT STOP!" Sam began screaming at the top of his lungs as Lucifer's voice grew to a deafening cackle_,_ "DEAN, PLEASE!"

But Dean didn't know what else to do.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Closing chapter. It's a bit different from the others, but bear with me.

Salty sweat ran down his forehead into his eyes from exertion. He had to move! Dean clenched the hilt of the dagger so tightly that he thought he was going to snap the weapon in half. Where the Hell was Cas when he need backup? Why had he let go at the last minute? For a moment, amidst the desperation, he worried about Castiel. He had sacrificed so many of his morals and values as an Angel by helping him in the first place. Was this the breaking point? The point of no return? It was for Dean, but it didn't have to be for an eternal holy being. What had he done?

"Dammit!" Dean screamed against Sam's voice repeating for Dean to make whatever ailing him stop, "DAMMIT, NO!"

"Dean, please. . ." Sam's deafening repetition grew to a sob, "Please, make him stop. . ."

"I don't know how," Dean whispered, "Tell me what to do. . .tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Sam didn't answer, but was instead exuded an earsplitting shriek and fell to his knees. Dean's hand began to shake as a force overwhelmed it, finally wrenching the dagger out of it. The knife fell to the stone floor in front of Sam and the younger brother gazed up at Dean in surprise. The older Winchester briefly closed his eyes as he recognized what was going to happen. It had to happen that way.

Dean dove to the floor once his eyes were open once more and Sam reached for the dagger. Simultaneously, the Winchesters grasped the dagger's hilt and the next moment the knife was buried into it's target. Sam made a choking noise as the blade dug itself through his throat and out through the other side of his neck. Tears fell from Dean's eyes as Sam's eyes melted from bloody crimson to black to glazed-over blue-green. Sam's hands fell away from Dean's where it had been covering his older brother's hands. Dean released the hilt and turned away on his knees from his brother's lifeless body falling to the side on the floor. His hands pressed to his eyes, he wiped the tears away and stood. Dean didn't look at Sam, he couldn't anymore.

As soon as he was to his feet and the final shreds of life faded from Sam Winchester, the ground began to shake. Dean fought to keep his balance as the stone floor cracked and split all around him. Then the ceiling began to collapse at the force of the tremors. Thinking quickly on his feet, Dean wrenched Ruby's dagger out of Sam and dragged his baby brother after him as he made his escape. There was no way that he could carry his much larger sibling, especially that he was dead weight now. There was also no way that he could move any faster out of the building with Sam in tow.

He had to leave Sam behind.

Dean let go of Sam and set him back down on the stone floor in the corridor outside the chamber they had been in. He gave his brother one last glance before beginning to run. Dean ran for his life, faster than he had ever ran in his entire life. Each bound was one step closer to freedom. Each stride took him closer to well-deserved peace. Dean sprinted down the stone passageways of the building that he knew nothing of. How was he going to get out of there? He didn't even know where he was in the first place!

Without any hesitation, however, Dean continued to sprint for his life down the corridors and finally saw a door. He raced for it, pulled open the heavy wooden door, and was blinded by the light and life of day. The wind whipped around him as he made a break from the building. What was happening? All he had done was kill Sam. Had Sammy been the key? Was Lucifer to fall without his prized general at his side? Had Sam become connected to Lucifer somehow?

Dean wasn't sticking around to find out, that was for sure.

* * *

Dean Winchester, son of Jonathan and Mary Winchester and brother of Samuel Winchester, laid in the grass staring up at the sky. The ground was cracked to his left, but Dean didn't care. He was too transfixed by the sight above him. He sighed and fingered the pendant at his neck that Sam had given him so many years ago. It seemed like a lifetime that they were two unnatural kids trying to get by in cheap motels while their father hunted supernatural creatures and they went to high school. So much had happened since then. So many betrayals, heartbreak, tears shed, blood lost. . .how he was supposed to live with those memories, Dean was still trying to figure out. All he had ever loved was gone. His mother, his father, Sammy, Bobby, Jo, Ellen, and other friends he had met along his journey. He had cared so much about them, worked so hard for their acceptance and trust. He had the trust ripped from him in Sam several times that he had thought that it would break them, but it hadn't. In the end, the brothers had found each other again. Words hadn't been said, but Dean knew that Sam had been sorry and loved him. That's all he needed to know.

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a box and set it on his chest as he studied the sky above him. He smirked a little at his next thought. He was definitely nine kinds of crazy as Bobby would have said. He walked along deserted highways with a dagger that can kill any being and the ashes of a little blond girl in his pocket, seeking the devil to exact his vengeance on the fallen Angel.

Pulling Dean out of his reverie was what he had been waiting for. Out from the clouds came the sun that hadn't shone for many months. With a grin, Dean felt the hot rays beat down on him and his skin beginning to warm. Lucifer was so close to being vanquished. In the months since Sam's death, everything had gone downhill with the demonic war effort. Castiel had been right, Sam had been the key to the master plan after all. Sam's body had been entombed in the stone rubble of the building that had brought upon the end of the apocalypse. Dean had returned to the site days after what had went down. He had sat atop the pile of rubble for the longest time from dawn to dusk, contemplating what must be done and mourning the death of his brother.

Since then, Dean had been tracking Lucifer that was on the run. The dark lord was barred from Hell somehow and trapped in their dimension which Dean found endlessly hilarious. Served him right, in Dean's opinion.

Now, Dean rolled over on the grass, Jo's box in hand, and got to his feet. The smile couldn't leave his face as he reflected on just how close he was to his destiny. After Lucifer was vanquished, there was nothing left to do. He could have his peace then.

But it wasn't over yet, there was more to come for the life of Dean Winchester and the eternity of his redemption.

FIN.

* * *

A/N:

This fic has indeed fulfilled it's purpose which was to redeem Dean because he had failed to kill Sam in the past. Thanks for sticking it out with this piece, I greatly appreciate it from all of y'all readers! Tell me what you think of this chapter and the story as a whole, I'd love to know and hear from you. *hugs*


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